Image forming apparatus

ABSTRACT

An image forming apparatus including a wireless tag communication device to write data to, and read data from, a wireless tag attached to a sheet. An image forming device in the apparatus is configured to form an image on the sheet. A controller in the apparatus is configured to determine whether a writing of data to a wireless tag was successful based on a notification from the wireless tag communication device and generate investigation support information if the writing was not successful and control the image forming device to form an investigation support image corresponding to the investigation support information if the writing was not successful.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority fromJapanese Patent Application No. 2020-211122, filed Dec. 21, 2020, theentire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD

Embodiments described herein relate generally to an image formingapparatus.

BACKGROUND

An image forming apparatus of one type includes a wireless tagcommunication device capable of writing data to a wireless tag. Theimage forming apparatus can also form an image on a sheet including awireless tag therein.

A wireless tag communication device may fail to write data to thewireless tag as intended. A person investigating the cause of such a tagwriting failure such as a serviceman may acquire the wireless tagprovided on the sheet for which the writing has failed along with anoperation log of the image forming apparatus. The investigator generallyinvestigates the cause of the tag writing failure by searching for thejob information corresponding to the failed writing from the operationlog. Such a process of investigating the cause of the failure can betime consuming.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a side view of an image forming apparatus accordingto an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an image forming apparatus.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a wireless tagcommunication device.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example an operation log orprocessing information stored therein.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of information to be writtenat a time of failure.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of information read at atime of failure.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of simple information.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of a sheet on which asupport image is printed.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of a sheet using atwo-dimensional code.

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of information to bewritten at a time of failure in which a password is indicated by hidden(obscuring) characters.

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of information read when apassword is indicated by hidden characters.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart of processing for forming a support image on asheet.

FIG. 13 illustrates a perspective view of a label printer.

FIG. 14 is a diagram schematically illustrating a cross-section of thelabel printer.

FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating an electrical configuration of a labelprinter.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

An object is to provide a method and apparatus permitting a cause ofapparatus failure in an image forming apparatus or the like to be moreeasily investigated.

An image forming apparatus includes a wireless tag communication device,an image forming device, and a controller. The wireless tagcommunication device is configured to write data to, and read data from,a wireless tag attached to a sheet. The image forming device isconfigured to form an image on the sheet. The controller is configuredto determine whether data writing was successful based on a notificationform the wireless tag communication device, generate investigationsupport information when the data writing is not successful, and thencontrol the image forming device to form an investigation support imagecorresponding the investigation support information.

In an image forming apparatus according to one embodiment, if writing toa wireless tag fails, the cause of the failure can be investigated moreeasily than in a conventional image forming apparatus. Hereinafter, theimage forming apparatus according to one or more example embodiment willbe described.

First, a side view of the image forming apparatus of an embodiment willbe described with reference to FIG. 1.

In FIG. 1, an image forming apparatus 10 includes a control panel 13, awireless tag communication device 201, and a printer unit 18. Theprinter unit 18 includes a control unit 100, paper feeding cassettes 516and 616, and the like. The control unit 100 controls the control panel13, the wireless tag communication device 201, and the printer unit 18.The control unit 100 controls the conveyance of sheets in the printerunit 18. The control of sheet conveyance includes control of the sheetconveyance timing, the sheet stopping position(s), the sheet conveyancespeed(s), and the like.

The control panel 13 includes input keys and a display unit. Forexample, the input key receives an input by a user. For example, thedisplay unit is a touch panel type. The display unit accepts an input bya user and displays the input to the user. For example, the controlpanel 13 displays operable display items related to the operations ofthe image forming apparatus 10 on the display unit. The control panel 13notifies the control unit 100 of the items selected by a user.

The paper feeding cassettes 516 and 616 store sheets provided with awireless tag. The paper feeding cassettes 516 and 616 can also storesheets without a wireless tag (e.g., standard sheets). However, in thefollowing description, unless otherwise specified, the sheets areassumed to include a wireless tag. For such sheets, a material such aspaper or a plastic film can be used. The sheets may be printable labelsin some instances.

The printer unit 18 is an example of an image forming unit, which mayalso be referred to as an image forming device. The printer unit 18performs an image forming operation. For example, the printer unit 18forms an image indicated by image data on a sheet. In the followingdescription, forming an image on a sheet is also referred to asprinting. The printer unit 18 includes an intermediate transfer belt 21.The printer unit 18 supports the intermediate transfer belt 21 with adriven roller 41, a backup roller 40, and the like. The printer unit 18rotates the intermediate transfer belt 21 in the direction of the arrowm.

The printer unit 18 includes four image forming stations 522, 622, 722,and 822. The image forming stations 522, 622, 722, and 822 are used forimage forming of Y (yellow), M (magenta), C (cyan), and K (black),respectively. The image forming stations 522, 622, 722, and 822 aredisposed below the intermediate transfer belt 21 in order along therotation direction of the intermediate transfer belt 21.

From among the image forming stations 522, 622, 722 and 822, the Y(yellow) image forming station 522 will be described as a representativeexample. Since the image forming stations 622, 722, and 822 have thesame configuration as the image forming station 522, description thereofwill be omitted.

The image forming station 522 includes an electrostatic charger 26, anexposure scanning head 27, a developing device 28, and a photoconductivecleaner 29. The electrostatic charger 26, the exposure scanning head 27,the developing device 28, and the photoconductive cleaner are disposedaround a photoconductive drum 24 that rotates in the direction of the narrow.

The image forming station 522 includes a primary transfer roller 30. Theprimary transfer roller 30 faces the photoconductive drum 24 via theintermediate transfer belt 21.

The image forming station 522 charges the photoconductive drum 24 withthe electrostatic charger 26 and then selectively exposes thephotoconductive drum 24 with light from the exposure scanning head 27.The image forming station 522 thus forms an electrostatic latent imageon the photoconductive drum 24 corresponding to image data or the like.The developing device 28 develops an electrostatic latent image on thephotoconductive drum 24 using a two-component developer including tonerand carriers.

The primary transfer roller 30 transfers the toner image formed on thephotoconductive drum 24 to the intermediate transfer belt 21 (referredto as a primary transfer). The image forming stations 522, 622, 722, and822 each form a toner image on the intermediate transfer belt 21 with aprimary transfer roller 30. A full-color toner image is formed bysequentially superimposing the Y (yellow), M (magenta), C (cyan), and K(black) toner images one upon the other. The photoconductive cleaner 29removes toner still remaining on the photoconductive drum 24 after theprimary transfer.

The printer unit 18 includes a secondary transfer roller 32. Thesecondary transfer roller 32 faces the backup roller 40 via theintermediate transfer belt 21. The secondary transfer roller 32transfers the color toner image from the intermediate transfer belt 21to the sheet at the second transfer roller 32 (referred to as asecondary transfer). In the following description, the term “tonerimage” may refer to either a color toner image or a toner image of onlyone color (monochrome). In some examples, the toner image may be a tonerimage formed using a decolorizing (decolorizable) toner.

A conveyance path 533 is a conveyance path from a confluence portion 544to a branch portion 644. The conveyance path 533 is a portion of aconveyance unit. The conveyance path 633 is a conveyance path thatpasses through a double-sided printing device 38, and is a conveyancepath from the branch portion 644 to the confluence portion 544. Aconveyance path 733 is a conveyance path from the branch portion 644 toa paper discharging tray 20.

The tip of the sheet taken out from the paper feeding cassette 516, thepaper feeding cassette 616, or a manual feeding tray 716 is abuttedagainst the contact portion of two stopped registration rollers 31. Theinclination of the sheet abutted against the registration roller 31 iscorrected. The control unit 100 starts the rotation of the registrationroller 31 according to the position of the toner image formed on therotating intermediate transfer belt 21 to move the sheet to the positionof the secondary transfer roller 32 at an appropriate timing. Thecontrol unit 100 transfers the toner image formed on the intermediatetransfer belt 21 to the sheet at the secondary transfer roller 32. Thecontrol unit 100 conveys the sheet to the conveyance path 533, and afixing device 34 fixes the toner image to form a printed image on thesheet. The control unit 100 discharges the sheet by conveying the sheetto the conveyance path 733.

In the case of double-sided printing, the control unit 100 conveys thesheet (with one side already printed) to the conveyance path 733. Afterthe sheet has fully passed through the branch portion 644, the controlunit 100 switches back and conveys the sheet to the conveyance path 633.Thereafter, the control unit 100 conveys the sheet to the confluenceportion 544 via the transfer path in the double-sided printing device38, and then conveys the sheet to the conveyance path 533 again via theregistration roller 31. Then, the control unit 100 forms an image on theback surface (second side) of the sheet by fixing a toner image with thefixing device 34. The control unit 100 discharges the sheet (nowdouble-side printed) by conveying the sheet to the conveyance path 733.

The wireless tag communication device 201 can communicate with thecontrol unit 100. The wireless tag communication device 201 reads data(information) from the wireless tag and/or writes data (information) tothe wireless tag by communicating with the wireless tag on/in the sheet.

The wireless tag in the present embodiment is, for example, a radiofrequency identifier (RFID) tag. The wireless tag communication device201 transmits radio waves in the direction of the arrow k. If thewriting of data to the wireless tag fails, the wireless tagcommunication device 201 can transmit cause investigation supportinformation for supporting an investigation of the failure to thecontrol unit 100. Additional aspects of the wireless tag communicationdevice 201 and the cause investigation support information will bedescribed below.

In general, an electrostatic latent image must be formed on thephotoconductive drum 24 by the exposure scanning head 27 before thetoner image can be secondarily transferred to the sheet at the secondarytransfer roller 32. The electrostatic latent image formed on thephotoconductive drum 24 is first transferred to the intermediatetransfer belt 21 as a toner image. The toner image transferred to theintermediate transfer belt 21 is then transferred to a wireless tagsheet that was conveyed to the position of the registration roller 31.

Next, a block diagram of the image forming apparatus according to theembodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 2.

In FIG. 2, the image forming apparatus 10 includes a control unit 100, acontrol panel 13, a printer unit 18, and a wireless tag communicationdevice 201.

The control unit 100 includes an arithmetic unit 51 and a storage device52. The arithmetic unit 51 operates to control the control panel 13, theprinter unit 18, and the wireless tag communication device 201 accordingto an image processing program stored in the storage device 52.

The arithmetic unit 51 is, for example, a central processing unit (CPU),an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or the like. Thestorage device 52 is a read only memory (ROM), a random access memory(RAM), a hard disk drive (HDD), a solid-state drive (SSD), or the like.A data receiving unit 53 receives print data corresponding to an imageto be printed (for example, data described in a page descriptionlanguage (PDL)) from a host, such as a personal computer (PC), andstores the received print data in the storage device 52. The image datadevelopment unit generates data (for example, raster data) that isprintable by the printer unit 18 by determining printing conditions fromthe print data stored in the storage device 52 and stores the generateddata in the storage device 52. Further, the data receiving unit 53receives data from the wireless tag communication device 201, the printdata, and the like.

The printer unit 18 includes the fixing device 34, the secondarytransfer roller 32, and the developing device 28. The printer unit 18forms an image on a sheet based on the data stored in the storage device52 by the image data developing unit 54.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of the wireless tagcommunication device 201. The wireless tag communication device 201includes an antenna 211, a circulator 212, a transmission amplifier 213,a modulation unit 214, a reception amplifier 215, a demodulation unit216, an interface 217, and a control unit 220. The control unit 220includes a processor 218 and a storage device 219.

The antenna 211 is for wireless tag communication. The circulator 212outputs the signal received by the antenna 211 to the receptionamplifier 215. The circulator 212 outputs the signal output fromtransmission amplifier 213 to the antenna 221. The reception amplifier215 amplifies the signal received from the circulator 212 and outputsthe amplified signal to the demodulation unit 216. The demodulation unit216 demodulates the signal from the reception amplifier 215 and outputsthe demodulated signal to the control unit 220. The modulation unit 214modulates the signal from the control unit 220 and outputs the modulatedsignal to the transmission amplifier 213. The transmission amplifier 213amplifies the signal received from the modulation unit 214 and outputsthe amplified signal to the circulator 212. The interface 217 is aninterface to the control unit 100 of the image forming apparatus 10.

The storage device 219 of the control unit 220 stores the information tobe written in the wireless tag and the information read from thewireless tag. Furthermore, if a writing of information fails, thestorage device 219 stores an error code or the like for identifying thecause of the writing failure.

The control unit 220 uses this error code information or the like totransmit the cause investigation support information to the control unit100. The cause investigation support information is information forsupporting the investigation of the cause of failure. Then, the causeinvestigation support information in the present embodiment includessimple information (simplified information) and detailed informationincluding additional information not presented in the simpleinformation.

The detailed information can be used by a service person, maintenancetechnician, advanced user or the like. The detailed information may bereferred to as detailed error information or error detail information.The simple information is information that a person using the imageforming apparatus such as an ordinary user of the image formingapparatus can convey to a person investigating the cause such as theservice person. The simple information may be referred to as errorsummary information.

The detailed information includes information indicating the processingcontent when writing fails (referred to as “processing information”),write information that was to be written to the wireless tag (referredto as “information to be written at the time of failure”), and readinformation (referred to as “information read at the time of failure”)that was read from the wireless tag for which writing has failed.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of processing information.The depicted processing information includes columns for “No.”,“processing content”, “result”, “error code”, “error details”, and “tagRSSI”. In this context, “No.” is a number for distinguishing thedifferent entries of processing contents. The “processing content”indicates the type of processing being performed on the wireless tag. Inthe present embodiment, the “processing content” is an entry of “write”or “lock”. The wireless tag in the present embodiment is provided withmemory banks 0 to 3, and also indicates the memory bank on which “write”has been performed in the case of “write”.

The “result” indicates the processing result of the processingillustrated in the “processing content”. The “result” includes an entryof “success” indicating that the processing has succeeded, “failure”indicating that the processing has failed, and “not executed” indicatingthat the processing has not been executed.

The “error code” is an error code for identifying the cause of failure.In this embodiment, the error codes are a hexadecimal numerical value.The “error code” is uniquely defined for each error. If the “result” is“success”, the error code is listed as “0x00”, and if the “result” is“not executed”, the error code is listed as “none” in this example.

The “error details” is the content of the error as indicated by the“error code”. For example, 0x31 in the “error code” indicates a “tagresponse timeout”. The “tag response timeout” indicates that theresponse from the wireless tag could not be received within apredetermined time. Moreover, since “0x00” in the “error code” indicatessuccess, not an error, the “error details” is entered as “success”. Ifthe “error code” is “none”, “error details” is entered as “No data”indicating that there is no “error details”.

“Tag RSSI” indicates a signal strength (Received Signal StrengthIndicator: unit is dBm) of a radio wave received from the wireless tagwhile executing “processing content”. For example, for No. 3, a “tagresponse timeout,” the “Tag RSSI” entry is entered as “none” because thesignal was not detected during the related processing.

The “processing content”, “result”, “error code”, “error details”, and“tag RSSI” included in the processing information described above areall useful information for investigating the cause of a failure.Therefore, the cause of failure can be investigated more easily byreceipt of the processing information.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of information to be writtenat the time of failure. The information to be written at the time offailure consists of columns “memory bank”, “offset”, “size”, and “data”.

The “memory bank” columns indicates a memory bank to be written. Sincethere are memory banks 0 to 3 in the present example, the “memory bank”is indicated by a numerical value of 0 to 3.

The “offset” entry is a value indicating how much the address at whichinformation writing is to be started is shifted from the start addressof the memory bank. The offset is indicated by the number of words. Inthis context, a word is a unit for writing tag information, and one wordis 2 bytes. Therefore, one word can be represented by a 4-digithexadecimal number. If no writing is performed, the “offset” is listedas “No data”.

The “size” entry indicates the data size of the information to bewritten. The “size” is also indicated by the number of words in themanner mentioned above. Therefore, if the “size” is 2, for example, thedata size of the information to be written is 2 words. If no writing isperformed, the “size” is entered as “No data”.

The “data” entry is the write information to be written to the wirelesstag at the start of the writing processing. The “data” is written inhexadecimal. Therefore, data value of 1 word is 4 digits. If no writingis performed, the “data” entry is listed as “No data”.

In FIG. 5, for example, writing to the memory bank 0 is started from aposition shifted by 2 words from the start address of the memory bank 0(the position where the start address of the memory bank 0+4 bytes).“AA55AA55” is written from this position.

The “memory bank”, “offset”, “size”, and “data” included in theinformation to be written at the time of failure described above are alluseful information for investigating the cause of a failure.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of information read at thetime of failure. The information read at the time of failure includescolumns for “memory bank” and “data”. The “memory bank” column indicatesa memory bank from which data was read. Since there are memory banks 0to 3 in the present example, the memory bank entry is indicated bynumerical values of 0 to 3. The “data” entry is the read data read fromthe wireless tag for which writing has failed.

In the memory bank 0, it is assumed in this example that NULL was setbefore any data was written. In FIG. 6, it is thus illustrated that“00000000AA550000” was read from the start address of the memory bank 0.Therefore, it can be seen that the latter one word “AA55” of “AA55AA55”(see FIG. 5) was not written.

The “memory bank” and “data” entries included in the information read atthe time of failure as described above are useful information forinvestigating the cause of failures.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of simple information. Thesimple information consists of a “date” row/entry, “error code” entry,“error details” entry, and “F/W version” entry. In this context, “Date”indicates the date and time when the writing failed. The “error code”and “error details” are as described in FIG. 4. The “F/W version”indicates the firmware version of the wireless tag communication device201. Thus, the simple information includes an error code. The error codecan be easily transmitted to a service person or the like by the user ofthe image forming apparatus. Therefore, the cause of failure can beinvestigated even with just simple information.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of a sheet on which an imageillustrating cause investigation support information (also referred toas a “support image”) is formed.

In FIG. 8, a sheet 850 is a sheet for which data writing has failed withthe wireless tag communication device 201. The sheet 850 is providedwith a simple information column 851 and a detailed information column852. As illustrated in FIG. 8, in the simple information column 851, animage illustrating the simple information as described in FIG. 7(hereinafter, also referred to as “simple support image”) is formed. Inthe detailed information column 852, an image illustrating the detailedinformation as described in FIGS. 4 to 6 (also referred to as “detailedsupport image”) is formed. As described above, since the detailedinformation and the simple information can support the investigation ofthe cause of the failure, the cause of the failure can be investigatedmore easily using a sheet on which the image illustrating the detailedand/or simple information is formed.

In the sheet example illustrated in FIG. 8, both simple information anddetailed information are formed, but either one may be formed in otherexamples. Further, as for the detailed information, an imageillustrating any one of the processing information, the information tobe written at the time of failure, and the information read at the timeof failure may be formed.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of a sheet using atwo-dimensional code as a support image. In FIG. 9, a sheet 860 is asheet in which the writing of data has failed by the wireless tagcommunication device 201. The sheet 860 is provided with a simpleinformation column 861 and a detailed information column 862. Asillustrated in FIG. 9, the simple support image as described in FIG. 7is formed in the simple information column 861.

However, in the detailed information column 862, a two-dimensional codeis formed in which the detailed information described in FIGS. 4 to 6 isencoded. Further, in FIG. 9, as additional detailed information, atwo-dimensional code in which setting information and job informationare encoded is illustrated. The setting information is information setin the wireless tag communication device 201, for example, a frequencysetting and a transmission power setting. The job information isinformation that identifies a job during which writing has failed, orinformation about the job for which writing has failed. The informationthat identifies a job is, for example, a job ID that uniquely identifiesthe job. The information about a job is, for example, color printing ormonochrome printing mode, and general information about a job such asthe number of pages.

Since there is generally more room for space when using atwo-dimensional code for the support image, as compared with the sheetexample illustrated in FIG. 8, more types of support images such assetting information and job information can be formed. If atwo-dimensional code is used, instead of encoding the detailedinformation itself, two-dimensional information obtained by encodinginformation from which detailed information can be obtained may be used.Examples of the information from which detailed information can beobtained include information for accessing an image forming apparatus 10or a server capable of providing detailed information. In this way, thesize of the two-dimensional code can be reduced by using thetwo-dimensional information obtained by encoding information from whichdetailed information can be obtained, and a support image can be formedeven with a small sheet that does not have enough space.

It is also possible not to disclose some of the above-mentionedinformation in clear writing at the time of failure and information readat the time of failure. For example, in the present embodiment, thememory bank 0 is an area in which a password for locking the wirelesstag is stored. Since disclosure of the password poses a securityproblem, an image in which the password is hidden, masked, or obscuredmay be formed on the sheet.

FIG. 10 illustrates an example of information to be written at the timeof failure when the password is indicated by hidden characters, and FIG.11 is a diagram illustrating an example of information read at the timeof failure when the password is indicated by hidden characters. Asillustrated in FIGS. 10 and 11, the data in the memory bank 0, which isthe area for storing the password, is displayed as asterisks. In theexample of information read at the time of failure in FIG. 11, “verify”is provided. The “verify” indicates whether or not the read data matchesthe written data. If the read data and the written data match, it is“OK”, and if not, it is “NG” (no good). In this way, even if thepassword is in hidden characters, the cause investigation supportinformation includes offset, size, number of bytes of data, andverification, and therefore the cause of failure can be investigatedmore easily using the sheet on which an image illustrating theinformation is formed.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating processing of forming a supportimage on the sheet. The flowchart illustrated in FIG. 12 is performed bythe control unit 100. The flowchart illustrated in FIG. 12 illustratesthe processing when it is possible to set whether or not to form only asimple support image on the sheet. The setting as to whether or not toform only the simple support image on the sheet is stored in the storagedevice 52. Further, the flowchart illustrated in FIG. 12 illustrates theprocessing when it is possible to set whether or not to use displaypassword in hidden characters. The setting as to whether or not to usehidden characters for the password is stored in the storage device 52.Further, the flowchart illustrated in FIG. 12 illustrates the processingwhen it is possible to set whether or not a detailed support image isprovided as a two-dimensional code. The setting indicating whether ornot to use a two-dimensional code for the detailed support image isstored in the storage device 52.

In FIG. 12, the control unit 100 writes data to the wireless tag by thewireless tag communication device 201 (ACT 101). The control unit 100determines whether or not the writing has failed (ACT 102). The wirelesstag communication device 201 notifies the control unit 100 whether ornot the writing has failed. As a result, the control unit 100 candetermine whether or not the writing has failed.

If the writing does not fail (ACT 102: NO), the control unit 100performs normal printing by the printer unit 18 (ACT 103) and ends theprocessing. The normal printing is to print the image to be formed onthe sheet in association with the written data.

If the writing fails (ACT 102: YES), the control unit 100 acquiressimple information from the wireless tag communication device 201 (ACT104). The control unit 100 determines whether or not to acquire detailedinformation (ACT 105). The determination is made here by referring tothe setting contents stored in the storage device 52 indicating whetherto form only the simple support image on the sheet. If the control unitdoes not need to acquire detailed information (ACT 105: NO), the controlunit 100 forms a support image with only the simple support image on thesheet (ACT 111) and ends the processing.

If the control unit 100 is to acquire detailed information (ACT 105:YES), the control unit 100 acquires the detailed information from thewireless tag communication device 201 (ACT 106).

The control unit 100 then determines whether or not to use hiddencharacters for the password (ACT 107). If not using hidden characters(ACT 107: NO), the process proceeds to ACT 109. If the control unit 100is to use hidden characters for the password (ACT 107: YES), the controlunit 100 generates detailed information in which the password is inhidden characters (ACT 108).

The control unit 100 then determines whether or not to use atwo-dimensional code for the detailed support image (ACT 109). Thedetermination here is made by referring to the setting contents storedin the storage device 52 indicating whether or not to use atwo-dimensional code for the detailed support image. If the control unit100 is not to use a two-dimensional code for the detailed support image(ACT 109: NO), the control unit 100 forms a support image including thesimple support image and the detailed support image (w/o atwo-dimensional code) on the sheet (ACT 111) and ends the processing.

If the control unit 100 is to use a two-dimensional code for thedetailed support image (ACT 109: YES), the control unit 100 encodes thedetailed information to generate a two-dimensional code (ACT 110). Thecontrol unit 100 forms a support image including a simple support imageand the two-dimensional code on the sheet (ACT 111) and ends theprocessing.

In the above-described embodiment, the image forming apparatus 10 hasbeen described as a relatively large apparatus such as a multi-functionperipheral (MFP), but the present disclosure can also be applied to arelatively small apparatus such as a label printer.

FIG. 13 illustrates a perspective view of the label printer 900. Thelabel printer 900 is provided with a paper supply unit 921 (see FIG.14). The label printer 900 includes a housing 911, an outlet 912, anoperation unit 913, an LED 914, a platen roller 923, an RFID antenna 931and an RFID module 932.

A printed label is discharged from the outlet 912. The operation unit913 accepts various operations from a user (e.g., a print startoperation, and the like). A plurality of LEDs 914 can be provided toindicate various device states (power on/off, error, and the like) ofthe label printer 900. The platen roller 23 ejects the label. The RFIDantenna 931 transmits a signal from the RFID module 932 and receives asignal from the wireless tag. The RFID module 932 writes data to thewireless tag and reads data from the wireless tag. In an embodiment, theRFID module 932 has the same configuration as the wireless tagcommunication device 201 in the first embodiment.

FIG. 14 is a diagram schematically illustrating a cross section of thelabel printer 900. In FIG. 14, a paper conveying path 922 is from thepaper supply unit 921 to the outlet 912. A thermal head 924 is providedat a position facing the platen roller 923 provided near the outlet 912.An ink ribbon is supplied from a roller 925, passes between the thermalhead 924 and the platen roller 923, and is wound around a roller 927.

A label is conveyed from the paper supply unit 921 through the paperconveying path 922 in the X arrow direction, printed at the positionwhere the platen roller 923 and the thermal head 924 are provided, andthen discharged to the outlet 912. Since the RFID antenna 931 isprovided in before the printing position, whether or not tag writing hasfailed can be determined in the label printer 900 before the relevantlabel is printed.

FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating an electrical configuration of thelabel printer 900. The label printer 900 includes a control unit 990,the operation unit 913, a communication interface 964, the thermal head924, a wireless tag communication device 991, and a conveyance motor965.

The control unit 990 includes a CPU 961, a ROM 962, and a RAM 963. TheCPU 961 controls the overall functions of the label printer 900. The ROM962 stores programs for controlling the label printer 900 and variouskinds of data. The RAM 963 temporarily stores data required forexecuting the programs.

The communication interface 964 is an interface for communicating with ahost such as a PC. The conveyance motor 965 drives components forconveying a label. The wireless tag communication device 991 includesthe RFID module 932 and the RFID antenna 931. The RFID module 932, theRFID antenna 931, the operating unit 913, and the thermal head 924 areas described above. The thermal head 924 is an example of an imageforming unit.

Also in the label printer 900 described above, the processingillustrated in the flowchart illustrated in FIG. 12 can be executed.Specifically, in the description of FIG. 12, the control unit 100 can beread as the control unit 990, the printer unit 18 can be read as thethermal head 924, the storage device 52 can be read as the ROM 962, thewireless tag communication device 201 can be read as the wireless tagcommunication device 991, and the sheet can be read as a label.

In the case of the label printer 900, since an image is formed on asmall label as compared with the sheet on which the image formingapparatus 10 forms an image, it is typically more effective to use atwo-dimensional code as the support image. It may also be effective toform only a simple support image.

As described above, according to the present embodiments, the cause oftag writing failures can be investigated more easily by forming an imageproviding cause investigation support information on the sheet uponwhich tag writing has failed.

In the present examples, a support image is formed on the very samesheet for which tag writing has failed, but the present disclosure isnot limited thereto. For example, a support image may be formed onanother sheet that is not provided with a wireless tag. In such a case,the specific sheet for which tag writing has failed and the separatesheet on which a support image is formed may be bound together withstaples or the like. As a result, it is possible to easily identify theparticular sheet for which tag writing has failed. In this way, even ifthe support image is formed on a different sheet from that on which thetag writing has failed, the cause of the failure can be investigated.

In the example embodiments, the image forming apparatus 10 also includesthe wireless tag communication device 201 therein, but in other examplesthere may be a different configuration in which the wireless tagcommunication device 201 is not included within the image formingapparatus 10 itself. Even in the case of such another configuration, ifwriting of tag information fails in a wireless tag communication device201, investigation support information for supporting the investigationof the cause of the failure can be acquired by the image formingapparatus 10.

In the above examples, the detailed information is information thatincludes more detailed information as compared with the simpleinformation. Further, the detailed information is the information for aninvestigator, and the simple information is the information that aperson using the image forming apparatus sends to the investigator suchas a serviceman. Specific examples of detailed information in that caseare illustrated in FIGS. 4 to 6, and specific examples of simpleinformation are illustrated in FIG. 7, but is not limited thereto. Forexample, the simple information may be information including at least anerror code. Further, the detailed information may be informationincluding at least one of the write information to be written to thewireless tag at the start of the writing processing and the readinformation read from the wireless tag for which writing has failed.With any information, the cause of failure can be investigated moreeasily.

Certain functions of an image forming apparatus 10 and a label printer900 in the above-described embodiments may be implemented as softwareexecuted by a computer. In such a case, a program for performing thesefunctions may be recorded in a non-transitory computer readablerecording medium, and a computer system may read and execute the programrecorded in the recording medium. The “computer system” referred to herecan include an operating system (OS) and additional hardware such asperipheral devices. In addition, the “non-transitory computer-readablerecording medium” is, for example, a portable medium such as a flexibledisk, a magneto-optical disk, a ROM, a CD-ROM or the like, or a storageapparatus such as a hard disk built in the computer system. Further, the“non-transitory computer-readable recording medium” may accessible via acommunication line and a program can be transmitted via a network suchas the Internet or a telephone line. Such a network accessible storagemedium may be one or more servers, virtualized machines, or the like. Inaddition, the above program may be for performing a part of theabove-described functions and further, may be achieved by combining theabove-described functions with a program already recorded in thecomputer system.

While certain embodiments have been described, these embodiments havebeen presented by way of example only, and are not intended to limit thescope of the inventions. Indeed, the novel embodiments described hereinmay be embodied in a variety of other forms; furthermore, variousomissions, substitutions and changes in the form of the embodimentsdescribed herein may be made without departing from the spirit of theinventions. The accompanying claims and their equivalents are intendedto cover such forms or modifications as would fall within the scope andspirit of the inventions.

What is claimed is:
 1. An image forming apparatus, comprising: awireless tag communication device configured to write data to, and readdata from, a wireless tag attached to a sheet; an image forming deviceconfigured to form an image on the sheet; and a controller configuredto: determine whether a writing of data to a wireless tag was successfulbased on a notification from the wireless tag communication device;generate investigation support information when the writing was notsuccessful; and control the image forming device to form aninvestigation support image corresponding to the investigation supportinformation when the data writing is not successful.
 2. The imageforming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the investigationsupport image is formed on the sheet to which the wireless tag isattached if the writing of data to the wireless tag was not successful.3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein theinvestigation support image includes a two-dimensional code encoding atleast a part of the investigation support information.
 4. The imageforming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the investigationsupport information includes error summary information and error detailinformation containing information not in the error summary information.5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 4, wherein theinvestigation support image includes text of the error summaryinformation and text of the error detail information.
 6. The imageforming apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the investigationsupport image includes text of the error summary information and atwo-dimensional code encoding at least a part of the error detailinformation.
 7. The image forming apparatus according to claim 4,wherein the error summary information includes an error code identifyinga specific error event, and the error detail information includes astorage location at which an error occurred during the writing of data,the storage location being associated with the error code, the writedata, and the read data.
 8. The image forming apparatus according toclaim 4, wherein the controller is further configured to obscureconfidential information included in the write data or the read data,and the error detail information includes the write data with theobscured confidential information, the read data, and informationindicating whether the write data and the read data match.
 9. The imageforming apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the confidentialinformation included in the write data is a password for locking thewireless tag.
 10. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1,wherein the controller is configured to receive image data associatedwith the data written to the wireless tag, and control the image formingdevice to form an image based on the image data when the data writing issuccessful.
 11. The image forming apparatus according to claim 10,wherein the image forming device does not form the investigation supportimage when the data writing is successful.
 12. The image forming systemaccording to claim 1, wherein the wireless tag communication deviceincludes an antenna positioned to transmit and receive signals for datawriting and reading to the sheet before the sheet is conveyed forforming the image on the sheet.
 13. The image forming system accordingto claim 1, wherein the image forming device uses toner for formingimages on the sheet.
 14. The image forming system according to claim 1,wherein the image forming device uses an ink ribbon for forming imageson the sheet.
 15. An image forming apparatus, comprising: an imageforming device configured to form an image on a sheet; and a controllerconfigured to: receive, from a wireless tag communication device, readdata from a wireless tag attached to the sheet; determine whether awriting of data to the wireless tag was successful based on anotification from the wireless tag communication device; generateinvestigation support information if the data writing is determined tobe not successful; and control the image forming device to form aninvestigation support image on a sheet, the investigation support imagecorresponding to the investigation support information if the datawriting is determined to be not successful.
 16. The image formingapparatus according to claim 15, wherein the investigation support imageis formed on the sheet with the wireless tag attached thereto when thewriting of data was not successful.
 17. The image forming apparatusaccording to claim 15, wherein the investigation support image includesa two-dimensional code encoding at least a part of the investigationsupport information.
 18. The image forming apparatus according to claim15, wherein the investigation support information includes error summaryinformation and error detail information containing information not inthe error summary information.
 19. The image forming apparatus accordingto claim 18, wherein the investigation support image includes text ofthe error summary information and a two-dimensional code encoding atleast a part of the error detail information.
 20. A method forcontrolling an image forming apparatus comprising: receiving, from awireless tag communication device, data that has been read from awireless tag attached to a sheet; determining whether a writing of datato the wireless tag was successful based on a notification from thewireless tag communication device; generating investigation supportinformation when the data writing was not successful; and controlling animage forming device to form an investigation support image on a sheetwhen the data writing was not successful, the investigation supportimage corresponding to the investigation support information.